The West End Church of Christ believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God and provides direct instruction for His Church, including its leadership. Christ is the Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22-23), and He has all authority in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). Yet, God in his wisdom recognized the need for leadership among His people to carry out his purposes on earth (I Tim. 3:1-13). These leaders are:

Elders: Luke tells us that Paul and Barnabas "appointed elders in every Church" (Acts 14:23). The elders were also known as bishops, overseers, pastors and shepherds, which provide some indication of the different aspects of the work of the one office. In essence, they are in charge of the spiritual welfare of the local congregation. Their qualifications are found in I Tim. 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.

Deacons: The appointment of the first deacons can be found in Acts 6, and from the first 6 verses of that chapter, we see that the work of these men was to look after the temporal welfare of the local congregation, under the elders. Their qualifications can be found in I Tim. 3:8-13.

Ministers (or evangelists) have the responsibility to "preach the word" (II Tim. 4:2). The first ministers were the apostles and were commissioned to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15). A congregation may have one minister, or it may have several.

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